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Butterfly, Butterfly, Fly Fly Away

Flowers and perennials are on the move again. It is that time of year when we start to see green again and begin to smell the beautiful fragrances that fill our landscape gardens. With this time of year we start to see the birds frequent our yards and can hear the buzz of the bees.

One other special little insect that we begin to see come to life are the butterflies! Their colorful wings begin to mix in with the colors of the flowers while they flutter about. It is a beautiful sign that spring is here and we are moving closer towards summer.

An article by The Ohio State University, titled Butterfly Gardens, was posted stating which flowers are great to have when looking to attract butterflies to your garden. I wanted so share some of these beautiful plants and show some of the varieties of butterflies you can expect to see in your gardens this year.

If you are looking for…

The Monarch Butterfly

– All three of these perennials, New England Aster, Butterfly Weed, and Common Boneset, are great to add to your garden or landscape if you are looking to try and attract Monarch Butterflies to your yard. Some other beautiful plants that attract the Monarch Butterfly are Goldenrod, Iron Weed, Jerusalem Artichoke, Joe Pye Weed, & Maximillian’s Sunflower’s.

The Painted Lady Butterfly

– These beautiful butterflies are attracted to not only these three perennials pictured above, Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot and Dense Blazing Star, but also enjoy the taste of New England Asters, Dense and Rough Blazing Stars, Common Bonesets, Goldenrods, Jerusalem Artichokes, Joe Pye Weeds & many more!

The Red Admiral Butterfly

– The Red Admiral is quite fond of the three perennials pictured above, Hoary Mountain Mint, Smooth Aster, and Greater Coreopsis, as well as the Butterfly Weed, Common Boneset & the Joe Pye Weed.

The Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly

– These three perennials, Black Eyed Susan, Wild Geranium, and Purple Coneflower, are just a few of the Eastern tailed Blue Butterflies favorite flowers to snack on. Others include Greater Coreopsis & the Hoary Mountain Mint.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

– These three perennials above, Iron Weed, Common Boneset andBee Balm, and the Purple Coneflower are the ideal perennials for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

Looking at these different types of butterflies and the types of perennials that they enjoy feasting on, it is easy to see that there are a few perennials that overlap with the species of butterflies. Make sure to add those to your Butterfly Garden and you will have every type of butterfly you can imagine taking over your garden. I can’t even imagine what a sight that might be. I hope you enjoyed this piece as Spring is finally here! Get planting folks, and as the old saying goes, “If you build it, they will come.” – Field of Dreams